It’s the year time! Every year, comics take time and usually end up putting together things that don’t fit the entire arc. Sometimes it’s a “filler,” and sometimes it’s intended to accumulate in something that’s coming, and sometimes to close out previous stories. Here, Dan Watters and Francesco Francavila reunite and offer insight into the mysterious Zanni. Zanni has haunted Dick Grayson for his life at first glance. But thanks to this story, Watters and Francavilla offer insight into Zanni’s motivations and past. The question most people ask when they know that a series has an annual is, is this an issue? Simple answer: Yes.
DC
The best part of this story is how it manages to both analyze both the tongues of fandom culture, sometimes very creepy. As an avid comic reader for over a decade, I have found myself laughing at how accurately I have been able to capture the criticism my readers often make on social media. I’ve seen it many times and I’m sure my reviews have given me a sacrificed myself. Comic book readers may tend to think they know the characters better than anyone else. And sometimes it may be true, but there may be books that do not clearly jive on the myth, history or essence of the character, but that is usually the exception to the rules. Here, Watters can blend comedic stereotypes of comic book criticism with stereotypes of the actual story itself, making it a great book.
DC
Zanni’s history turns out to be interconnected with Olivia Pierce’s history. After all, she has some skeletons in the basement – er, closet. While Olivia’s appearance as Zanni’s dedicated servant begins to happen, we learn how close it is for Maggie Sawyer to uncover the first thread of this mystery. However, it doesn’t take long to worry about whether she’s on top of her head as Zanni is learning how intrusive and the length Olivia has done for him. With around 40 pages in length, this year can thrive in Watter’s typical storytelling fashion, with several different moving parts, including Olivia, Zanni, Maggie and Nightwing. As a result, I discovered that this story was very convincing and full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.
DC
Francesco Francavilla does a truly amazing job scaring the living sunlight from me. This story turns out to be a great example of why his particular art style is meant to surprise stories between thriller and horror genres (such as Batman: Black Mirror). A great example of this comes when Zanni first appeared on the issue. There, he literally comes out of the shadows and feels bigger than life in the worst possible way.
When his own followers seem scared of him, it makes you wonder whether Nightwing will eventually stop him. These moments can animate the story in a very unique way that makes our mystical antagonists feel like even greater threats than characters like Trigon. Needless to say, the story is beautifully illustrated and is full of fear, mystery and ample suspense to need tea to calm the nerves. In this story, art not only elevates the story, it also creates the story. It’s not that the writing is bad, it’s spectacular. Here, Watters is a masterclass that creates stories full of grotesque suspense and horror, but it really brings the story to life through Francavilla’s detailed pencils and intense colors.
Nightwing Annual 2025 makes great use of annual features. Rather than fluff of stories without rhymes or reason, this year is intended to be read among the main issues of the series. This helps add layers of depth to what the series begins to understand the direction they are looking at, so it doesn’t take away time or disrupt Nightwing’s visit to Titans Tower. The story is eerie, suspenseful, and completely witty. Overall, I found this to be a great story that readers wouldn’t want to miss!
“Nightwing Annual” 2025 is the correct annual thing
Nightwing Annual 2025
Nightwing Annual #1 is annual completion by contextualizing all moving parts of the previous series, using additional time and page space.
The story works very well as an opportunity to feel more depth in the world around Nightwing and is not taken away from Nightwing’s current arc pace.
The story balances a sharp style of humor with a mystery that leaps towards the horror genre. Both areas are often underutilized for Nightwing, resulting in memorable stories.
Francesco Francavilla’s sharp colours and thick lines help the story highlight more drama and suspense.
Nightwing isn’t really that much, but it can be a hassle for some people.
